Thanks to Ordinary Gentleman Mark Thompson, I can provide you with a link to a toy that lets you try to cut the Federal budget. It turns out to be a good deal more difficult that it might seem. Here’s a hint, though — you can’t have any sacred cows. And you’ve got to approach the task with the overriding policy goal of reducing debt. Here are my results, with real policy choices I would really make if I were really President:
Note, also, that I include about equal amounts of revenue increases (I don’t increase taxes outright, but it would sure feel that way to most of you and I do allow the Bush tax cuts to expire) and spending cuts, including tightening up on SSI and significantly paring back our adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Did I say I’d make those kinds of choices if I were President? Yes, but given our current political environment, I’d probably be a one-termer; I could only get all this enacted if I were the King instead. Of course, we don’t have one of those…
